In the deep mountain forests stood three buildings, their exteriors worn and aged.
Decades, even centuries of weathering had taken their toll, rendering these once sturdy military structures seemingly on the brink of collapse, their surfaces covered in moss.
In recent years, these three buildings, which were once on the verge of oblivion, had regained a sense of vitality. Under the command of a man known as the "Northeastern Tiger," there seemed to be signs of a return to their former glory!
If all went well, these three buildings, transformed into "factories," might even be renovated into even more magnificent structures in the future.
However, a series of events cast a shadow over the factory once again!
Bullet marks on the walls showed signs of increased activity.
Crack!
Bang bang!
Gunshots, ** sounds echoed from the nearby woods near the factory!
"What should we do?"
Staring out the window, the Northeastern Tiger, who was in the office building of the three structures, seemed lost in thought.
He had been operating this factory for over a year, but that was nothing compared to the years it took him to plan and find this place, from his teens to his twenties!
To abandon everything after all these years was simply unthinkable!
"Should I give up?" he pondered.
The Northeastern Tiger walked to the window. The squads that had been targeting him were no longer there, but there were still the "super mutants" and several soldiers mentioned by the drug addict, heading towards the factory.
"These people won't attack me from long range, but their destination is still the factory."
"Boss, are you ready? We need to leave!" a bespectacled man entered the room, prompting the Northeastern Tiger.
"You've been with me for some time now, so you should know that if I leave like this, I'll lose everything! Now I'm considering whether I should leave or not. You're an educated man, give me some advice. Should I stay or should I go?" the Northeastern Tiger stood by the desk, looking weary.
Years of effort, defeating squad after squad, only to face these super mutants and soldiers in the end. Just now, he had called the "big shot" above him, and after a moment of silence, the order was to leave the factory for now and discuss further actions later!
Discuss further actions? How could the Northeastern Tiger feel like he had much of a chance left?
The principle of the factory was not very complicated, and the formulas were handed over to the "big shot" as a token of trust a few days ago. If he withdrew now, it would be extremely difficult to return. After all, there were plenty of people who could replace him!
"Boss, let's go. There's no use staying here!" the bespectacled man's eyes behind the lenses had a strange gleam.
The Northeastern Tiger sighed deeply.
He knew staying here was futile.
It all depended on whether there would be a chance to come back in the future.
With these thoughts in mind, he took out a small briefcase from the desk.
"Let's go!" he glanced longingly at the office.
The bespectacled man looked at the briefcase, somewhat puzzled. "Boss, is this the Japanese technology data your grandfather obtained back then?"
The Northeastern Tiger shook his head. "It's just a backup. I've already given the original to that big shot."
With that said, he headed towards the office door.
Bang!
Smoke filled the air.
The Northeastern Tiger looked in disbelief at the bloodstain on his chest!
"Northeastern Tiger, no... Li Jing! You really aren't as capable as you seem."
The Northeastern Tiger weakly leaned against the unopened door!
He struggled to turn back, his sturdy body sliding down continuously.
"You..." the Northeastern Tiger gritted his teeth! He looked at the bespectacled man holding the gun in front of him.
"What about me? Although I really appreciate your recognition, but all this time, the feeling you've given me is that you've come this far purely by luck. But such people can never achieve greatness. Since that's the case, why not let me help you achieve your potential?" The bespectacled man's eyes behind the thick lenses still shimmered with an inexplicable gleam. There was a smile on his face now.
He reached out and took the briefcase from the Northeastern Tiger's weak hands.
"By the way, your data comes from Japan, right? The buyer I found is also Japanese. They promised me a reward that I can hardly believe, and I'll also receive dividends from the future derivatives of this technology. Not bad, huh!"
With a gentle push, the bespectacled man let go of the Northeastern Tiger's body, which had lost all strength.
The Northeastern Tiger's tall figure slowly fell.
"You... traitor..." He finally couldn't hold on any longer. After uttering these words, blood spilled from his mouth, and his body fell heavily to the ground!
The bespectacled man opened the office door, carrying the briefcase.
Before leaving the room, he looked down at the Northeastern Tiger, who hadn't completely lost consciousness, with a sneer.
"Traitor? You, a murderer, are no different from me."
Then, he gently closed the office door.
As his footsteps faded away...
Cough cough... The Northeastern Tiger lay on the ground, coughing up blood.
He wanted to struggle to get up, but he had no strength.
He wanted revenge, but his body wouldn't obey.
After years of searching for the factory, tracing the footsteps of his great-grandfather's brother named Li Qicheng, and finally finding the ruins of this factory, the events he had orchestrated to turn it into a successful venture replayed in his mind.
The bespectacled man said he had reached this point purely by luck!
Perhaps luck did play a part, but he had also worked very hard!
Watching the factory about to flourish and about to use the potion in his hand to achieve his grand ideal, one blow after another struck!
And now, he was about to die.
Dying like this, he couldn't accept it!
But his vision was still blurry...
"I... don't want to die!"
The Northeastern Tiger crawled towards his desk!
His body was completely devoid of strength.
But he still struggled to crawl.
His fingers trembled as he used the key to open the desk drawer.
Two bottles filled with black liquid were inside!
"According to the data, drinking this has a 99.95% chance of death! The remaining 0.05% possibility..."
"I can't die!" The Northeastern Tiger reluctantly opened one bottle and poured the black liquid into his stomach!
"Ugh..."
After a while, a low roar came from his mouth.
His head dropped, hitting the ground.
He ceased to breathe!
He seemed alive, yet dead.
The warm sunlight from outside poured into the cramped space.
The tall figure lay there, life or death unknown.
Outside!
"Listen to me, the boss said that the senior addict and others will come to pick him up later. Let's go to Liangshui Town first! He'll contact us after he leaves, hurry!" The bespectacled man walked up to a group of terrified subordinates, anxiously conveying the boss's orders.
The bespectacled man walked up to a group of already terrified subordinates, conveying the boss's orders with a slight sense of urgency.
"Let's go! The experts are about to break in, even a hundred of us wouldn't be enough to survive. Hurry!" Someone couldn't resist and immediately grabbed their luggage, heading towards the exit.
With this group of subordinates lacking much intellect, the bespectacled man managed to deceive them all with just a few words.
Blending in with the crowd, the bespectacled man carried a suitcase and a quaint-looking handbag. His eyes displayed disdain.
After leaving, he finally wouldn't have to be with this bunch of idiots anymore.
The group of people quickly disappeared outside the gates.
The factory's entrance harbored a hidden underground passage, connecting to a sparsely used path two kilometers away. Once there, they would be relatively safe.
After all these people had left, the three buildings that had been quite lively in recent years suddenly became desolate.
The machines had long ceased operation, and the workers had either been dismissed or relocated.
With the backing of a powerful figure, those workers were no longer a threat. Even if they leaked something, there would be someone to deal with it.
So now, among the three buildings of the factory, there was only the tall man lying on the ground in the office, his fate unknown...
It seemed that after two years of bustling activity, it had once again returned to the tranquility of the past!
And in this tranquility...
Buzzing!――
A faint sound emanated from the distant sky.
A creature covered in metallic luster flew from the sky towards the factory!
"If my estimation is correct, security in the factory should be very tight at this moment, and there's also the unimaginable expert, the senior addict. Trying to infiltrate the factory now is extremely dangerous!"
Jia Yan prepared himself mentally for the assault!
He wouldn't give up on seizing this opportunity just because of the danger!
Even though he knew that encountering the senior addict could mean a slim chance of survival, he wouldn't retreat!
Ever since his rebirth, Jia Yan had relied on one thing: courage, which had propelled him to this point! So this time, he was determined to fight!
Without fighting, there would be no future!
"Hmm, what's going on with the factory? There's an underground entrance at the main gate! Could it be that they usually enter through here?"
Flying in the sky, Jia Yan noticed something different about the factory from usual!
"There's also no sound of machinery. Could it be that the machines haven't been repaired yet? That's possible, but why are even the security guards who were usually everywhere nowhere to be seen?"
Jia Yan was very surprised.
Hovering a hundred meters above the factory, he flew around in circles for three or four rounds before finally confirming that something had definitely happened in the factory!